Improvement in machines for defecating and bleaching- cane-juice



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PHILIPPE PAILLE, OFST. JAMES PARISH, LOUISIANA.

Letters Patent No. 85,955, dated J amm/ry 19, 1869.

IMPRDVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR DEFECATING- AND BLEACHING- CANE-JUICE.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom 'it may concern: Y

Be it known that l, PHILiPPE PAILLE, of the parish of St. J ames, and State of Louisiana, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Machines for Deiecating or Bleaching Gane-Juice; and I do hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, on which, at

Figure l, is presented a perspective, and at Figure 2, a sectional view, the bisection being vertical and central.

It is well known that the use of sulphurous-acid gas for defecating and bleaching cane-juice and other saccharine liquids, with the view of improving the sugar to be made therefrom, has, to a greater or less extent, long obtained in all sugarproducing countries in which the arts of civilization have been introduced, and that a great valiety of mechanical organisms and arrangements have been devised, and are now in common use,

that have for their special object the injection, infusion,

anddistribution of this gas in and through the cane-j nice or other liquid that is to he purified and bleached, in order that the sugar into which it is to be subsequently converted, or, more accurately speaking, which is to he extracted from it, shall be of light color, or perfectly white.

It is also veryfamiliar knowledge that most, if not all of the so-called defecating-machines that are used in connection with saccharine liquids, thus far invented, violently stir, agitate, or dash about the same, by means of some mechanical appliance or other, to which rapid positive motion is given, to secure the thorough permeation of the liquid by the gas, and the consequent contact of all portions of the former with the gas, that is' necessary to effect the desired ends; and thatsuch agitation very greatly impairs the granulating-capacity of the liquid, as well as the quality of the sugar produced therefrom, by preventing the perfect crystallization thereof. 1n truth, the beating and violent agitation of the cane-juice, which are incident to the use of nearly every existing popular machine, in the process of dei'ecation, is one, if not the principal cause, ofthe ,disproportionate yield of molasses from a given quantity ofthe juice, as compared with the sugar obtained therefrom, which so Jfrequently annoys and puzzles the manufacturer, if it does not subject him to actual loss.

The object of my invention is to cti'ect the impregnation of the juice with the gas, anda general and perfect diffusion of the latter throughout every part ofthe former, without violent agitation ci' the same, or the employment of any mechanical instrumentalities for such purpose, and thus to avoid the evil consequences 'to which I have referred, aml at the same. timeto secure quicker and better results, and at less cost than can be attained by existing machines, or the methods new practised; and

My invention consists of an arrangement of a pecu- Marly-constructed gas-forcing pump, or of several ot' the same, within a. receiver in which the juice and the sulphur-iinnes, to produce the desired chemical ell'eet, are both contained, in such a manner that, by the combined agency of the pump and the superior levity of said fumes, which cause them to rise to the snrlacc of the juice when injectedor forced into it, a thorough infusion and diffusion ofthe gas is secured throughout every part ofthe juice.

But my invention will be better understood by referring to the drawing, on which A marks the juice-receiver, the juice flowing into it directly from the pressure-rollers ofthe mill, through any proper conduit-pipe or trough. This receiver may be of any dimensions, and constructed of wood or metal, ora combination ot' both. It mayalso be of any other form than that shown on the drawing, which convenience or fancy maydicia te.

The juice enters the rcceiverA near its top, wc may suppose through Va pipe, a, and is discharged through a slightly larger pipe, b, a little below the inductionpipe a, and on the opposite side of the receiver. The object of having the ednction a little larger than the induction-pipe is to prevent the juice from rising above the former.

The fumes or gas is brought into the receiver from thesulplmr-flu'nace, through a pipe, c, which, entering at the bottom thereof, as shown, extends a little way above the pipe u, and is provided at its top with a valve, d, hinged so as to articulate upwardly, and allow the gas to i'low out ofthe pipe c.

Over this vertical section of the pipe c is placed a hollow plunger or sleeve, e, which, by means of proper links, is operated by a crank in the same manner as the plunger of an ordinary forcing-pump. The bottom of the plunger-sleeve c must move in its up-amLdon'n reciprocating operation from a point very near thc bottom ofthe receiver A to a point a few inches below the discharge-pipe l. The diameter ofthe plunger-sleeve c should be at least twice as great as that of the pipe c, in order to aii'ord a considerable concentric open space around the latter, for the downward passage of the gas under the forcing action of said sleeve in its downward movement. This sleeve c is air-tight, except at its bottom, where it is open, and for a few inches above its bottom, where it is perforated on its sides with small holes, as shown;

Ihe gas, after having performed its oiiice, escapes through the pipe j, which, in order that the gas may be, in some degree, packed in the receiver, ought to be somewhat smaller than the pipe c. This object, however, may be accomplished just as well by the introduction of a blower in the pipe c. l

rlhe top of the receiver should be so securely at tached, that it will aii'ord a steady support for the plunger-sleeve e, which necessarily must pass through it, a proper stuiling-box being provided, to prevent leakage.

The operation of myfinvention is as follows, to wit:

As soon as the juice begins to flow into the receiver A, the sulphur-furnace is put in action, and the gas ows therefrom into the vertical section of the pipe, c, that is Within the receiver, and through the valve d, at the top thereof, into the plunger-sleeve e, which, by its action, when in operation, forces the same down around the pipe c, to the bottom of the receiver, where it es! capes through the perforations in the sleeve, in radiating and powerful currents, that diii'use it throughout every part ofthe juice, at and near the bottom of the receiver.

In this diiused state, the gas, by reason of its great relative buoyancy, instantly rises to the surface of' the juice, and, in doing so, comes necessarily in contact with every part and particle of the same, and the defecation and bleaching thereof are completely accomplished, Without, it will be perceived, subjecting it to more agitation than is produced by the passing ofthe gas through it, which, it is obvious, cannot be in the slightest degree injurious.

In the downward motion or stroke of the plungersleeve, the valve d is closed by the pressure of the gas above it, which cannot therefore go back into pipe e.

Like the receiver, the plunger-sleeve and pipe e, or such part of it as is within the receiver, may be made of metal or Wood, and either square or round.

Having thus described my invention, and explained its mode of operation,

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The arrangement of one or more plunger-sleeves, e, Within a cane-j uice or other saccharine-liquid defecating and bleaching-receiver A, and in connection with a vertical section or sections of a gas-pipe or pipes c, when these several parts are constructed, united, and operate substantially as hereindescribed, for the purpose set forth.

PHILIPPE PAILLE.

Witnesses:

RUrUs R. RHODES, H. N. J ENKrNs. 

